


Spid-E

by LearnedFoot



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Birthday Presents, Bonding Over Science Stuff, Canon Compliant, Fluff, Gen, Post-Spider-Man: Homecoming, bots
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-30
Updated: 2020-05-30
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:14:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24447907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LearnedFoot/pseuds/LearnedFoot
Summary: Peter gets (makes) Tony a birthday present.
Relationships: Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 42
Kudos: 261





	Spid-E

**Author's Note:**

  * For [aohatsu](https://archiveofourown.org/users/aohatsu/gifts).



> Aohatsu, thanks for pointing out to me that today (May 29, 2020) is [officially Tony Stark’s 50th birthday](https://i.stack.imgur.com/eG2rA.jpg)! I wanted to mark the occasion, so here’s a quick little ficlet for yooou (which isn’t quite about his fiftieth, but is about his birthday, which I hope is close enough). Thanks for being a great friend in the fandom and for pointing out this very important date that I otherwise would have totally missed <3
> 
> Gen (but if you want to imagine that one day down the line Peter tops this in a sexy way, I’m not going to argue). Set during Tony’s first birthday after _Homecoming_

Peter regrets all his life choices the moment he hands Mr. Stark the box. He can see the surprise and confusion on his mentor’s face as he takes in the Iron Man wrapping paper, and the ribbon that looks less like a bow than a mess.

“What’s this?” Mr. Stark asks, as if it’s not painfully obvious. Oh god. He hadn’t even mentioned his birthday was coming up. Like, at all. He probably thinks Peter’s a total stalker or something, but it’s too late to back out now.

“Well, I knew it was your birthday, and you’ve done so much for me this year and so I thought I should get you something to say thank you?”

Mr. Stark raises his eyebrows, just a little, but it’s enough to make Peter feel like he’s done something wrong. “Kid, I’ve seen what I pay you. You shouldn’t be spending money on me.”

“I, um, didn’t?” Peter blushes. He hopes Mr. Stark won’t be annoyed when he realizes he used spare parts from around the lab. “I made it?”

Mr. Stark’s expression immediately morphs from incredulous to intrigued. “Did you, now? Interesting.”

Peter practically shakes with anticipation—and a fair amount of worry—as Mr. Stark tears away the wrapping and opens the package to reveal a tarantula-sized metal spider. It waves. 

“It’s a robot,” Peter says, stating the obvious as Spid-E crawls out of the box and begins to skitter and jump along the table. “To kind of, um, show off all the things you’ve taught me?” Wait, that makes it sound like it’s all about him. He taps the table, and his bot clatters her way over. “Also, she’s good at holding things,” he explains, lifting one of her legs to show how it can fit a screwdriver head. “Each leg is for a different tool. I thought she might be helpful for getting into smaller areas where Dum-E can’t reach?”

Mr. Stark stares, eyes moving from Spid-E to Peter and back rapidly. He doesn’t say anything.

“You don’t actually have to use her!” Peter adds, suddenly feeling silly. Why did he think making a robot for _Tony Stark_ was a good idea? It must look hopelessly amateurish. “If you don’t want…that’s probably a stupid idea.”

“Are you kidding?” Mr. Stark’s voice is strangely thick. He blinks rapidly a few times before tapping the table, imitating Peter’s command. The bot dances over to him. He carefully lifts a different leg, examining it. “This is amazing, Pete. It’s—yeah. Wow. Very impressive. When did you even…?”

“Um, mostly during lab time? You get like, _really_ into what you’re doing. It was actually pretty easy to put her together without you noticing.”

To Peter’s relief, Mr. Stark breaks into a wide smile. “Right under my nose. Even better.” He turns that smile on Peter, and Peter can feel himself go a little faint with all the joy it contains. “I love it. Seriously, thank you.” Before Peter has time to tell him he’s welcome, he adds, “Does she have a name?”

“Spid-E? It doesn’t stand for anything.” He should have come up with something clever. Why didn’t he come up with something clever? “You can rename her if you want.”

“One day I will teach you the art of the acronym,” Mr. Stark says with a laugh, but it’s warm, affectionate. He extends his hand and the spider runs up his arm, settling on his shoulder. “Hello, Spid-E,” he tells her, completely serious. “Do you want to meet your brothers?”

As Mr. Stark carries his gift over to Dum-E and U and very earnestly starts introducing them, Peter feels his relief drain. He’s struck with a terrifying thought: _How on Earth is he going to beat this next year?_

He’d better start brainstorming now.

**Author's Note:**

> As always, feedback is loved <3


End file.
